The present invention relates generally to product labels, and, more specifically, to shelf talkers.
The typical retail market includes aisles of shelves on which different products are displayed. Each shelf includes a C-shaped metal bracket in which individual product labels are suitably affixed. The typical shelf label is small in size to fit along the small bracket, and includes pressure sensitive adhesive on the back side thereof which forms a removable bond with the bracket.
A shelf talker is a special type of product label used for promoting brand identity, units of measure, price comparisons, and special sale pricing and promotions. The shelf talker is usually larger than the shelf label, and is used in addition thereto for increasing the visibility of the particular product being promoted.
Shelf talkers are typically provided in groups of similar size on individual sheets for collectively printing the desired information thereon. Fixed information, such as store identification and product graphics, is typically pre-printed in large quantities of the sheets in a suitable manner during the production of the shelf talkers.
Variable information, such as the specific product, size, and promotional price, may then be locally printed on each of the shelf talkers in a common sheet using a suitable printer such as thermal transfer, laser, and direct thermal printers.
Due to their temporary nature, shelf talkers must be easy to produce, install, and remove, and as well as being durable enough to withstand their intended use. And, cost is always a significant factor which affects shelf talker usage.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,186,555, assigned to the present assignee, discloses a plurality of shelf talkers ranged head-to-head in a unitary sheet for being commonly printed in the local printer. The individual shelf talkers may then be removed from the common sheet and temporarily applied to the shelf bracket.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,408,553, also assigned to the present assignee, discloses a particular configuration of the shelf talker in which a rectangular tab is provided in the label for mechanically mounting the shelf talker to the bracket. The release liner is initially removed from the back of the shelf talker for exposing pressure sensitive adhesive thereon, and the tab is bent for insertion into the bottom hook of the shelf bracket. The opposite top or leading edge of the shelf talker is disposed in the bracket top hook. The shelf talker is therefore both mechanically trapped in the shelf bracket as well as being bonded thereto using the adhesive.
The introduction of the integral tab in the label itself correspondingly increases the cost of manufacture of the shelf talker, as well as reduces the available surface area of the label for printing desired product information thereon. The tab may be formed by a three-edge diecut in the label, and printing thereon is not desired in view of the discontinuity provided by the diecut.
Furthermore, the die cut tab can create feed problems in printers having circuitous travel paths. As the shelf talker bends around narrow rollers in the feedpath, the diecut may expose the cut edges which may snag during feeder travel. This can cause jamming or skewing of the shelf talker during printer travel rendering the specific shelf talker unusable, and requiring remedial action when the printer jams.
Accordingly, it is desired to provide an improved shelf talker which eliminates die cutting of the label itself and retains the full surface area of the label for printing of desired promotional information.